Centre’s New Bill: Marrying Women With Fake Identity Now Punishable Offence

For the first time a bill was introduced on Friday proposing a specific provision to deal with offenses like marrying a woman while hiding identity or engaging in sexual activity after giving false promise of marriage, promotion, or employment will result in up to 10 years in jail.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, which would replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, was submitted in the Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He said that clauses pertaining to crimes against women have received special attention.

“Crime against women and many social problems faced by them have been addressed in this bill. For the first time, intercourse with women under the false promise of marriage, employment, promotion and false identity will amount to a crime,” he said.

The bill, which will now be examined by a Standing Committee, states: “Whoever, by deceitful means or making by promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, and has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.” It further states that “deceitful means” shall include the false promise of employment or promotion, inducement or “marrying after suppressing identity”.

The key point here is that consent of the victim taken under false pretence cannot be termed voluntary. “Women are being exploited in our country by men who have sex with them after promising them marriage and it’s an offence if men at the time of making the promise had no intention to marry,” Senior criminal lawyer Shilpi Jain said.

Promise to marry cannot be equated with promise of employment/ promotion because promise of marriage is based on love, trust, while promise of employment/ promotion are benefits which women are accepting in return for sex. It’s a relationship of mutual benefit. When a woman knows what she is getting into that is sex for employment or promotion — then it is not under deceitful or false promise,” she further added.

With Agency Inputs

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